Nat Turner is at last safely lodged in jail. 8, 1831: Extract of a Letter Received in Richmond Dated Southampton, Nov. This article was printed by the Alexandria Gazette (Alexandria, Virginia) on Nov. Phipps, as the sole captor of Nat, is alone entitled to the several rewards (amounting in the aggregate, as we understand, to about $1,100) offered by the Commonwealth and different gentlemen, for his apprehension and we are told, that in this instance Fortune has favored a very deserving individual-to whom, in addition to the pleasure arising from the recollection of the deed, the money derived from it will not be unacceptable. The poor wretch, we learn, admits all that has been alleged against him-says that he has at no time been five miles from the scene of his atrocities and that he has frequently wished to give himself up, but could never summon sufficient resolution! He says that not the least personal violence was offered to Nat-who seemed, indeed, one of the most miserable objects he ever beheld-dejected, emaciated and ragged. Our informant (one of our own citizens, who happened to be in the county at the time), awards much praise to the people of Southampton for their forbearance on this occasion. took Nat to his own residence, where he kept him until Monday morning-and having apprized his neighbors of his success, a considerable party accompanied him and his prisoner to Jerusalem, where after a brief examination, the culprit was committed to jail. The prisoner, as his captor came up, submissively laid himself on the ground, and was thus securely tied-not making the least resistance! ordered him to give up his arms Nat then threw away an old sword, which it seems was the only weapon he had. raised his gun to fire but Nat hailed him and offered to surrender. Francis (one of the first victims of the hellish crew), came to a place where a number of pines had been cut down, and perceiving a slight motion among them, cautiously approached, and when within a few yards, discovered the villain who had so long eluded pursuit, endeavoring to ensconce himself in a kind of cave, the mouth of which was concealed with brush. Phipps, having his gun, and going over the land of Mr. It appears that on Sunday morning last, Mr. It is with much gratification we inform the public, that the sole contriver and leader of the late insurrection in Southampton-concerning whom such a hue and cry has been kept up for months, and so many false reports circulated-the murderer Nat Turner, has at last been taken and safely lodged in prison. The Petersburg Intelligencer received this morning contains the following account of this individual: This article was printed by the Petersburg Intelligencer (Petersburg, Virginia) and reprinted by the Baltimore Gazette and Daily Advertiser (Baltimore, Maryland) on Nov. Nat Turner’s rebellion, capture, trial and hanging were big news, especially in Southern newspapers. 5, Turner was convicted and sentenced to die six days later he was executed.ġ831 woodcut from the book, Authentic and Impartial Narrative of the Tragical Scene Which Was Witnessed in Southampton County Although the local militia defeated Turner’s band the next day and captured several of the rebels, Turner himself escaped and hid in the woods, avoiding capture for over two months. By the time the local militia rallied and scattered Turner’s band, 55 whites-31 of them infants and children-were dead, most of them butchered. 21, 1831, Turner led as many as 70 followers on a 36-hour rampage to free slaves and kill whites in Southampton County, Virginia. The Capture of Nat Turner (1800-1831) by Benjamin Phipps on 30 October 1831īeginning on Aug. Turner believed he received visions from God-one vision instructed him to be an instrument of revenge against whites for their wicked ways. He often avoided people and spent much time fasting, praying, and preaching to other slaves. Although education for slaves was widely outlawed, he taught himself to read as a young child and pored over the Bible. Whites throughout the American South were traumatized in the summer of 1831 by a bloody slave revolt led by Nat Turner, a man his fellow slaves called “The Prophet.” By all accounts, Turner was an intelligent but peculiar man. Image Credit: The Granger Collection, New York
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